Monday, October 30, 2017

Marc Faber, popularly known as Dr Doom has predicted that the US stock markets could correct by as much as 30-40%. In an interview to CNBC last week, Marc Faber said, “ You don’t see it. I don’t see it and nobody sees it. That’s why people continue buying stocks. Yet something will happen one day.” Explaining what may cause the plummeting of stocks he said, “It may come from a credit event, or a disclosure of a major fraud, or it may come because interest rates start to go up, although central banks remain on the dovish side. There are many small events that can trigger the decline.”

Explaining why he predicts an impending doom, Marc Faber said that even though corporate profits have been expanding and interest rates remain low in the United States, as opposed to 2009, the valuations are very high. “Hardly anywhere in the world valuations are low. Stocks as well as bonds are fully priced,” he pointed out.

Just last month, Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund alongside George Soros, predicted that the “biggest crisis in his lifetime” is less than a year away. In an interview to Kitco news, Jim Rogers said, “We could see the worst crash in my entire life pretty soon.” Jim Rogers went one step ahead to say that it would be ‘bizarre’ if there wasn’t a problem. “We’ve had economic problems in the US, in North America, every four years since the beginning of the republic, to say that we’re going to have a problem is not unusual,” Jim Rogers had told in the same interview to Kitco. Jim Rogers observed that the 2008 financial crisis was caused due to a rise in debt, and since then the debt has gone through the roof. In fact, Alberto Gallo of Algebris Investments, in a blog written in July this year noted that global debt levels have almost quadrupled, rising 276% in the last decade to $217 trillion.

Just like Jim Rogers, Marc Faber is betting on precious metals. Marc faber said, “Relative to everything else, I think precious metals are not terribly expensive. I think agricultural commodities are inexpensive,” he told CNBC last week. Jim Rogers, sometimes referred to as ‘Commodities Guru’, believes that gold prices are likely to skyrocket, in view of the impending meltdown. He observed that people have always turned to gold in the face of crisis and this time around it’s not going to be any different. In the same conversation with Kitco, he said, “Gold is going to be explosive in the next few years.”

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Economic guru Marc Faber warns that the Trump administration and its economic policies won’t help the U.S. dollar in the long run.

Faber, who has earned the nickname “Dr. Doom” for his pessimistic forecasts, explained to CNBC that the greenback “could easily rebound” by 4-5 percent or even more from current levels.

However, he said the American currency won’t benefit over time from any of Trump’s policies so far.

The dollar index has tumbled nearly 10 percent since the start of 2017. At the same time, gains among currencies such as euro and peso also added to the dollar's pain.

"I think the dollar could easily rebound by 4 to 5 percent, or maybe even more. Longer term, I'm obviously not optimistic about the U.S. dollar,” said the editor and publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.

“You just have to look at the U.S. administration and their economic policies that will not be very conducive for dollar strength in the long run," said Faber.

"They're actually shooting themselves in their own feet, so long term I'm obviously negative about the U.S. dollar," he added.

For his part, Trump has continued to proclaim his dislike of a strong dollar, breaking with the traditional practice of presidents not commenting on the American currency.

"I like a dollar that's not too strong," he said, according to a Wall Street Journal interview transcript posted by Politico.

"I mean, I've seen strong dollars. And frankly, other than the fact that it sounds good, lots of bad things happen with a strong dollar," Trump said, according to the transcript.

Meanwhile, the dollar held losses against a basket of major currencies on Thursday following data that showed a faster-than-forecast increase in domestic consumer prices in August, Reuters reported.

U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August amid a jump in the cost of gasoline and rental accommodation, signs of firming inflation that could allow further monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve this year.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was down 0.3 percent at 92.246. The index had been at 92.286 before the release of the data.

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent last month after edging up 0.1 percent in July. Economists had forecast the CPI rising 0.3 percent in August.

“The inflation number, while probably not high enough to set off any inflation alarm bells just yet, should still be sufficient keep alive hopes for a third rate hike in December by the Fed,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.

Strong gains for the greenback on Wednesday, when the dollar index rose 0.69 percent, its best day in nearly six weeks, was probably part of the reason behind the dollar’s muted reaction to Thursday’s data, Esiner said.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Marc Faber answered questions in an e-mail exchange with The Globe and Mail.

Do you have any regrets about what you wrote in your latest newsletter?

Why should I regret stating historic facts?

People are interpreting what you wrote as racist, as you are clearly stating the superiority of whites in comparison to blacks.

From the perspective of economic progress and development clearly. Is the world a better place after 200 years of Western economic and political as well as military superiority? No, we whites have been extremely cruel, but I sometime wonder if other ethnic groups would have been any better????

Would you still write what you wrote knowing what has transpired? i.e., big backlash in the public, and being sacked from the 3 boards in Canada.

If saying what I said leads to these consequences I prefer not to be on these boards.

Do you think the actions of the three companies (Ivanhoe, Sprott & Novagold) to ask you to resign was appropriate, or do you think you should be allowed to keep those board seats?

I think the corporate world is now run by compliance people. In this context I understand their firing me. In the meantime another two companies asked me to resign – So 5 in one day.

Do you see any hypocrisy at all from the three companies in asking for your resignation?

Unfortunately, Western societies have become extremely hypocritical. Their so called moral superiority will take them down.

Are these companies as moral and upstanding as they profess to be? Sprott and Ivanhoe clearly state they have certain values that they uphold rigorously. Do you think they actually adhere to these values, or is this lip service designed to protect themselves?

Morals in the corporate world? "When it comes to money, everybody is of the same religion" = Voltaire. I am not God. I am not here to judge other people. One CEO stated that I must have been on some drugs when I wrote my Gloom Boom & Doom report. Since I have only taken Cocaine three times and marijuana about ten times in seventy years, I did not think these were appropriate comments.

Have any of the companies privately told you something different than what has been stated publicly?

Numerous board members have expressed their regrets that I am leaving their board.Will the financial impact from losing income from those lost board seats impact you in a big way, or does it not really matter?

It will be a huge loss. I shall go back to being a waiter.

Does the public backlash bother you, or are you immune to this?

It bothers me greatly that I had to hear all the time I was at school and at University about enlightenment, freedom of speech and of expression that the media nowadays did not find anything better to do than to label me as racist. To call someone a racist is a form of low blow insult. Insult is the response of the weak to strength of character.

Have you had a significant amount of subscribers cancel their subscriptions to your newsletter as a result of the controversy?

No, I think most people actually agree with me and certainly defend freedom of expression even if it does not coincide with their views.

Does it bother you that the U.S. business channels say you will no longer be welcome as a guest?

It bothers me greatly that the media has become this biased against people with a different view.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Marc Faber discusses the recent action he is seeing in the markets and how he sees things unfolding going forward. Is gold still a good investment, or are there now better opportunities? Will the market continue onward with its rise? Tune in to learn more.

Prominent business newsletter writer Marc Faber stood by racist remarks he made this week that led to his dismissal from several corporate boards, justifying them on freedom-of-speech grounds.

On Tuesday, three well-known publicly traded Canadian companies promptly dismissed Mr. Faber, a Thailand-based investor and publisher of a well-read investment newsletter, from their boards, after the publication of his latest Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, which contained the statements: "Thank God white people populated America and not the blacks," and "at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority."

The remarks went viral, causing widespread outrage, with commentators blasting Mr. Faber for his insensitivity and blatant racism. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which was one of the companies that sacked Mr. Faber, said in a release on Tuesday it "deplores" his views about race. U.S. business television networks also distanced themselves from Mr. Faber, with CNBC, Fox and Bloomberg stating he is no longer welcome as a guest.

He isn't likely to pop up any time soon on Canadian business television either.

"Mr. Faber will not be appearing on BNN in the future," said a Bell Media spokesperson in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.

In the face of all of this backlash, Mr. Faber is standing by his remarks. In a series of e-mailed answers to The Globe, Mr. Faber said he did not regret his comments about race, and would not change a word of his missive, citing freedom of speech rights.

"Why should I regret stating historic facts?" he wrote.

When asked if he knew in advance that that the publication of his commentary would result in him being fired from corporate boards, he replied; "If saying what I said leads to these consequences I prefer not to be on these boards."

"I think the corporate world is now run by compliance people. In this context I understand their firing me," he added.

In addition to Ivanhoe, Sprott Inc. and NovaGold also cut ties with Mr. Faber on Tuesday. He also confirmed to The Globe that U.S-based Sunshine Silver Mining Corp. and Vietnam Growth Fund have also let him go.

"One CEO stated that I must have been on some drugs when I wrote my Gloom Boom & Doom report," wrote Mr. Faber, who doesn't recall which CEO make that remark.

"Since I have only taken cocaine three times and marijuana about ten times in seventy years, I did not think these were appropriate comments, " he added.

Richard Leblanc, associate professor of law, governance and ethics at York University, called Mr. Faber's after-the-fact refusal to apologize and the doubling-down on his remarks "very anomalous."

"His reaction is odd," Mr. Leblanc said.

"It actually makes it worse."

Mr. Leblanc says the zeitgeist has changed somewhat since Donald Trump ran an election campaign and subsequently is running a presidency, occasionally based on making derogatory comments, refusing to apologize and then doubling down. Others in the public eye now feel they have "permission" to do likewise, he says, despite corporate boards having no tolerance for such remarks.

Canadian boards in particular are much less forgiving and tolerant than American boards when it comes to off-colour remarks pertaining to race, religion and sexism, Mr. Leblanc says. It's also becoming much more prevalent in North America to do extensive background checks on prospective board members, so as to head off any scandals.

"What you don't want is a situation like this," he says.

"It's an incredible distraction."

As for Mr. Faber, he admits that his comments will cost him economically. The three Canadian board seats alone paid him about $390,000 a year. He is also less likely to be in demand for speaking engagements, and his newsletter, which costs $300 (U.S.) a year per subscriber, may see a decline in popularity, as he will have little or no free exposure any more on business television.

Monday, October 2, 2017

Earlier this month, famous investor Marc Faber reiterated something we've long told our readers: You need to own gold. And you need to own it now.

Especially in the face of cyberterrorism.

In a recent interview with Metal Masters, Faber noted that the biggest geopolitical risk for Americans today is not a conventional war, but rather cyberattacks that could take down the entire U.S. power grid.

If that were to happen, noted Faber, gold would become an "irreplaceable medium of exchange."

"It's good to have a diversified asset outside of the banking system and not financially related," said Faber. That way, if cyber hackers did go after the power grid – or the stock market – you would have investments not tied to either of them, according to Faber.

But cyberattack threats are not the only reason you should have some gold in your portfolio now. In fact, Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth is watching a gold price catalyst that makes the precious metal a valuable asset even without the risk of a cyberattack…

Gold Prices Are Set to Rise in September Thanks to Congress

On Sept. 29, a U.S. government deadline could be responsible for the next gold price rally in 2017. That is, if members of Congress don't agree on one important issue: the debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling limits how much debt the federal government can carry at any given time. Right now, the current debt level of $19.9 trillion is just a hair away from the $20.1 trillion ceiling.

Unless Congress agrees to raise the ceiling by the deadline, the government will essentially run out of money and will no longer be able to cover its expenses...